Over enthusiastic RCTA (Rear Crossing Traffic Alert)

[Stopeter44]

Overall I think this is a great feature, but it does slam on the anchors in some awkward places. For example, when parallel parking, if gently reversing into the space then if a car comes up behind and overtakes, it will slam on the brakes. Or when reversing out of an angled parking spot and the passing car has just gone by, it will slam on the brakes.

It can be turned off, but there's no button that can dis-activate it temporarily. What do others think ?

[Big_D]

It's only activated once with me when I was reversing out of a parking. Beeped like crazy but no braking

[AndyRC]

I’ve only had it active once and it applied the brakes. I was reversing out of a parking space and as a car drove by, not sure if I would have had a collision without it as I was coming out very steadily but better safe than sorry. 

[Big_D]

Maybe I applied the brakes before the car could, as I saw the other vehicle.

[Cyker]

Yeah, as I've mentioned before I do find all of the automatic braking systems too sensitive. They feel geared for more rural / american style environments and tend to just freak out when in tight urban city environments where everything is closer/tighter!

[Stopeter44]

18 minutes ago, Cyker said:

They feel geared for more rural / american style environments and tend to just freak out when in tight urban city environments where everything is closer/tighter!

That's a good summary, I got myself in a tight spot in a car park the other day, I had to make a three point turn to get to a parking spot, and I was unable to move the car because other cars, not that many, keep moving behind me. It would be nice to "pause" the function like you can with LTA.

 

3 hours ago, Big_D said:

It's only activated once with me when I was reversing out of a parking. Beeped like crazy but no braking

It beeps like crazy, before hitting the brakes and when it does hit the brakes, it's pretty brutal.

Like I wrote, better on than off, but in some situations a pause would be nice.

[Cyker]

Ahh the good ol' BEEEP! KRRRRK! *jerk*

I have experienced it many times since owning this car  

[Stopeter44]

On 3/5/2022 at 5:36 PM, Cyker said:

Ahh the good ol' BEEEP! KRRRRK! *jerk*

Yes the first time it happens, WTF!!! plus the dash screaming !BRAKE! 

On another note, I used to be able to graze the walls, almost, when reversing into the garage with the 208, luckily we thought big(ish) when we had the garage built, I can get the Yaris in, no problem, but I have to have it square in the middle, otherwise the car yells at me because of the bits and bobs it can detect when reversing !

[Juastra]

Have a 23 GR Sport and this feature whilst admirable is really quite annoying.... I have had this activate several times in the local supermarket car park and am quite concerned that "damage" is being caused to the brakes or something as the noise is so horrid.  Anyone know if there is cause for concern in that respect and also - I would have thought that the dealerships would be able to make it less sensitive !  Thanks for your advice - this is my first Toyota after having Vauxhalls for many years. 

[hind]

I don't think emergency braking can damage anything, especially when the car is almost stationary. It happened to me only once when I was reversing from the angled parking spot. Otherwise it's just warning.

[Juastra]

Thanks - it just sounds so awful when it happens.  This my first most technologically advanced car - all these extra features that I have never had before that are helpful but just a bit of a shock.  I jump out my skin when the auto wipers comes on 😁

[Stopeter44]

4 minutes ago, Juastra said:

- it just sounds so awful when it happens. 

My wife covers her ears, and is almost terrified of the noise, she hates it, and won't drive the car.

[Juastra]

 I wish I could do the same 😀 but that would only make things worse.  it does not happen everytime but once it was about three times in a row trying to get out of a space.  Just have to remember to back into spaces now rather than drive in "headfirst" so to speak 🙂

[Cyker]

You know, they should put driving offenders in these cars with the ability to turn off any of the ADAS systems disabled - That'll soon straighten them out!  

... Or they'll get PTSD from the constant binging and bonging and being thrown into the seatbelt and won't want to drive any more!

[RonYarisX]

I'm reading some of these recent comments with interest. Several people complaining about the ferocity of rear cross traffic alert, but nobody is saying why the car stopped. And not a single person saying their car was in an accident - so RXTA doing it's thing.

Slams on brakes making a loud noise.  Don't people agree it'd be all be a  bit useless if it didn't slam on the brakes?

If you're parked in a bay and you have a van on one side and a large SUV on the other, I think RXTA is such a wonderful piece of tech it should be mandatory on all cars. ( some of the mandatory things these days are just annoying ).

I can't tell you the number of times I've been walking or cycling thru a supermarket car park, and someone has reversed out in front of me. Sometimes it's plain ignornace by the driver, but others - what option do they have if they can't see if anything is coming? They're 100% relying on the 3rd party seeing them reverse rather than them seeing the 3rd party.

[hind]

The problem starts when you do see what's behind you, you can see the car stopped to let you reverse, you start to reverse and then SLAM! You pause for 2 seconds. Then you reverse again, move a little bit and SLAM! You were forcefully stopped once more because the system thinks you are about to crash into stationary vehicle in which the driver starts to get irritated by the fact that you brake suddenly when reversing. Next time he will just go instead of wasting 10 seconds or more because someone cannot reverse properly. Nobody is complaining about the fact that this system is there. The only issue is that it sometimes works unexpectedly and incorrectly (false positive detection).

[Roy124]

Ron to a point.  The only quibble I have is it does not sense vehicles that have passed and are going away.

You observe the crossing vehicle, you see it is clear and moving away but as soon as you start to move BANG!

Better safe than sorry though.

[Stopeter44]

The RCTA detects crossing traffic a good distance behind and sometimes thinks that crossing traffic behind an embankment is a risk, it beeps, but generally doesn't slam the brakes in those circumstances. 

I think it's confusing for the driver when, there is passing traffic when parallel parking into a tight spot, because I can never make up my mind if it's the RCTA, or just the car telling me I am too close to the car behind me.

[Juastra]

It is a fantastic tool, but just too sensitive.  It is like when you are driving along and it shouts BRAKE at you because it thinks you are going to crash, or if you cross the white line slightly and you are strongly encouraged to move back... it is almost as if the car is trying to teach you to drive ! The safety features are great but when you have been a (clean) driver for almost 40 years it is a bit annoying.   I appreciate it that a sudden stop is helpful but when you are trying to back out of a parking space in a supermarket car park and it takes you an age because the thinks that you are about to crash is mighty frustrating. 

[Cyker]

I must admit I wish there was a button to toggle the system between Active and Warning-Only quickly, or at least an override; Several times I've had the car leave me in a dangerous position and disable the accelerator pedal while it dithered its digits before deciding it was indeed safe.

Most common is when I'm turning right across a junction - It sometimes thinks I'm going to crash into the car that just passed even though they are now 20m down the road, and then just leaves me stranded across both lanes while cars are approaching from both directions while I'm stamping on the accelerator pedal to no avail until the 2 very long seconds it take the system to decide it's safe to proceed elapses.

Another new one I had yesterday: I was behind a van at traffic lights - Lights went green, we both started to move, he stabbed the brakes for a second because a phone zombie looked like they were going to step out in front of the, but didn't, so he shot off again, but my Mk4 did the KRRRRTZ BONG *SLAM* and I actually missed the light and got honked at a lot because it wouldn't let me move, even though the van was already well clear.

I've also literally had the BRAKE! alert on a road with nothing in front of me recently:

 

 

 

With the RCTA, I've also been stuck half-out the bay a few times because the car thought it sensed something and won't let me move for the usual 2 seconds despite the fact there is nothing there - I still haven't figured out what caused that as, while it was very busy, there was nothing in the immediate vicinity that warranted stopping me like that. It's why I half-joke about crisp packets, seaguls, tumbleweeds etc.  

 

The worst thing about these systems is they make you 2nd guess yourself - I've never run over anybody and I'm fairly confident I'm doing good observations while moving, but the system shakes your confidence with its many false positives. It needs a lot more work and I would consider it and the road sign recognition (More like unrecognition), at best, beta-test quality right now. I'm still surprised they have been approved for use in real vehicles with such glaring and potentially dangerous defects.

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Sounds like another thing I really don't need, along with stop/start and having the steering wrenched out of my hands,if indeed I get a newer car eventually.

So,is there no way of turning this and these other things off completely?

A big red button to do so seems good to me,if these things are mandated into newish car manufacture.

 

[Cyker]

You can turn off most of them (Although some needed to be turned off every time the car is turned on), but the problem is they have saved me a few times too so I'm reluctant to turn them off completely. Most of the time it's not too intrusive, but I just wish there was an instant override for when it does intrude!!

I'm better at predicting what triggers it and have been better at avoiding such situations - Mainly by driving like I have a nervous passenger  , but it still catches me out now and then...

[RonYarisX]

On 2/28/2024 at 8:34 AM, Roy124 said:

Ron to a point.  The only quibble I have is it does not sense vehicles that have passed and are going away.

You observe the crossing vehicle, you see it is clear and moving away but as soon as you start to move BANG!

Better safe than sorry though.

Not just you Roy124, otherstoo...

I have NEVER had that experience. Anytime RXTA has activated it's because there was something it didn't like, and when I started driving again, no problemo.

Just a thought...  how fast are people reversing? I'm reversing at snails pace after the system has alerted me and never experienced what others seem are complaining about. System functions no differently exactly from my Skoda.

[RonYarisX]

16 hours ago, Cyker said:

 I've never run over anybody and I'm fairly confident I'm doing good observations while moving...

 

 Are you saying that because you've never run over someone before that you won't do so in future? 😲

It's because of that flawed confidence we all suffer from, why I think systems like this should be mandatory.

My point above - we do not have x-ray eyes. If you're parked in a supermarket bay with a larger vehicle at your side and you reverse on to a road or over a walk / cycle way, you're 100% blind. Even fish-eye reverse cameras cannot see a pedestrian who's full attention is directed on their mobile phone / the parent who's too busy talking to their kids / the lycra clad self centred cyclist who thinks that because they're wearing a helmet, they're immune from damage.

I can almost guarantee everytime I vist a large supermarket, I see someone pull out in front of others. As per above, we're playing Russian roulette - we're crossing our fingers and hoping the 3rd parties see us.

Anyway, I'm not interested in those 3rd parties coming to harm...  I'm more interested in not scratching my car.  🤣 ( come on, that's how we all think )

[Stopeter44]

44 minutes ago, RonYarisX said:

the lycra clad self centred cyclist who thinks that because they're wearing a helmet, they're immune from damage.

Not to mention drivers high on cocaine, or whatever else !

45 minutes ago, RonYarisX said:

I'm more interested in not scratching my car.  🤣 ( come on, that's how we all think )

At least the first scratch ...